A museum of Sydney’s past was a historical centrepiece at Penshurst Public School this month.
Year 3 and 4 pupils put together the story of the city’s history in a creative display in the school hall.
The exhibition was a display of genuine artefacts collected from family members, self-made sculptures of heritage buildings, and Indigenous artworks that depicted the significance of Aboriginal culture.
For the past 10 weeks pupils collaboratively investigated Sydney’s past and learnt how to analyse historical sources, and identify changes in the community.
Penshurst Public School teacher, Shabaz Tasipale said children took the project on with excitement.
“This style of project-based learning places a huge challenge on students as they have to time plan and problem solve when planning a real life event,” she said.
“The historical knowledge and skills that have been learnt have held an authentic purpose for students within the goal of creating their own historical museum.”
The exhibition was in line with the new curriculum that included the mandatory teaching of history in primary schools. In 2016 it became compulsory for primary schools to teach a new history syllabus.
“History has always been included to a degree in other areas of the syllabus such as in Human Society and its Environment, but it’s now focusing on investigating and questioning history,” Ms Tasipale said.
“There has been a shift in the vocabulary of Sydney’s history, and that began with Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generation, which sparked conversations about equity.
“Children are more aware about the many perspectives of history. They are looking at not only events but building skills in social research and looking at sources.”
